Originally Posted by Sandy Lowe:
Too many Indiana tracks competing for the same piece of pie & too many Indiana promoters willing to schedule AGAINST a big time race. You also have some Indiana fans that would rather go to their local track & watch a $15 show vs. paying $10-15 more for a big time race that they can watch the next day on Flo.
Why would/should a track promoter book an event that they don’t feel confident they can make a profit at (or even break even)?
Bingo!! You nailed it. The problem IS Indiana. The fans want to watch 15$ shows in person and then watch the 30$ show on a recliner. Sounds great to a naive fan, but they also don’t like when their favorite driver leaves to race for more money in another type series. The promoters schedule against each other because of this stupid mentality. A person in the Usac office explained to me years ago that the ISW purses won’t substantially increase because it’s the only time of the year Indiana promoters get along and work together, by not scheduling against each other and adding money to any of those races. He said they make a boat load of money that week and don’t want to give it up. My response was to schedule Usac events at least 500 miles away that week and see how many of the true real local fans show up to every event. I guaranteed him there would not be one sellout. If the fans are the problem forcing promoters to screw one another then take the product away and market it elsewhere properly and it’s a win. Usac has always said they are a sanction body not a promoter. WRG is a sanction body that PROMOTES their product. Not once but twice by adding SLMs. The be careful what you wish for line is easy to say when you are afraid of losing what you’ve got. I firmly believe if half of the Usac events that are scheduled each year in Indiana were removed then all shows would be sellouts. Too easy for people to say I’ll just go to the next one.
I’m from Pa and used to be a weekly fan of winged racing until I started coming to Indiana regularly. Our speedweek is usually a real one, meaning it’s a whole week, not two wknds with a two day nap time. The tracks are packed and the purses are all elevated. Also there is no sanction body. One thing we do have is promotion. The racing is, well it’s wings so take it for what it’s worth. WRG probably has its issues and time will tell what they are. Usac has had all of these years to raise their product to the financial level that WoO has gotten their products to and have failed. I don’t blame any team that leaves for wings or teams that follow WRG. I’m not going to be careful that I wished these guys raced for more money.
This isn’t going to be a work in conjunction thing either. As Gene F. said earlier, this is a step towards a total takeover.
Originally Posted by yeleyfan76:
Bingo!! You nailed it. The problem IS Indiana. The fans want to watch 15$ shows in person and then watch the 30$ show on a recliner. Sounds great to a naive fan, but they also don’t like when their favorite driver leaves to race for more money in another type series. The promoters schedule against each other because of this stupid mentality. A person in the Usac office explained to me years ago that the ISW purses won’t substantially increase because it’s the only time of the year Indiana promoters get along and work together, by not scheduling against each other and adding money to any of those races. He said they make a boat load of money that week and don’t want to give it up. My response was to schedule Usac events at least 500 miles away that week and see how many of the true real local fans show up to every event. I guaranteed him there would not be one sellout. If the fans are the problem forcing promoters to screw one another then take the product away and market it elsewhere properly and it’s a win. Usac has always said they are a sanction body not a promoter. WRG is a sanction body that PROMOTES their product. Not once but twice by adding SLMs. The be careful what you wish for line is easy to say when you are afraid of losing what you’ve got. I firmly believe if half of the Usac events that are scheduled each year in Indiana were removed then all shows would be sellouts. Too easy for people to say I’ll just go to the next one.
I’m from Pa and used to be a weekly fan of winged racing until I started coming to Indiana regularly. Our speedweek is usually a real one, meaning it’s a whole week, not two wknds with a two day nap time. The tracks are packed and the purses are all elevated. Also there is no sanction body. One thing we do have is promotion. The racing is, well it’s wings so take it for what it’s worth. WRG probably has its issues and time will tell what they are. Usac has had all of these years to raise their product to the financial level that WoO has gotten their products to and have failed. I don’t blame any team that leaves for wings or teams that follow WRG. I’m not going to be careful that I wished these guys raced for more money.
This isn’t going to be a work in conjunction thing either. As Gene F. said earlier, this is a step towards a total takeover.
Maybe the first and only time I've totally agreed with you on anything. But there are some differences on what we would agree the solution to be.
Some Tracks only make a profit on their USAC shows. the rest they are breaking even or losing on. I get it. But some Indiana tracks having three four five and one even six USAC dates between sprints and midgets. Some of them all standard purse. I see this is where the sanction should take a stand. You want more than two (Including sprint week) One race has to pay a third more first to twenty first.
You want a weekday date?? The sanction and purse fee is 28k You want Friday, Saturday or a holiday or a sprint week show? The sanction and purse fee is 35 or 40k
That kind of thing. There are a lot of things Not right with Indiana racing. But the thing that's right is none of us have to travel five hundred miles to see awesome non wing action. A racer wanting to hone his/her craft can run two, three or more times in some cases a week.
Posting this for information only….KO Motorsports with drivers Jason McDougal and Chase Stockton will compete for the Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Car Series title.
This was reported on FB by both Sprint Car and Midget Magazine and Speed Sport.
Originally Posted by openwheelfan1:
Posting this for information only….KO Motorsports with drivers Jason McDougal and Chase Stockton will compete for the Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Car Series title.
This was reported on FB by both Sprint Car and Midget Magazine and Speed Sport.
The hardest thing to change in an organization is its culture, and the Indiana culture seems to be a majority of owners who don't want to travel very far or very often. That is just my casual observation, not sure if it is accurate. Does that same group control the USAC board of directors?
Another question, how does California sprint racing compare to Indiana?
Originally Posted by Rhody:
Ah the old "USAC guys show the wing guys how to get it done" fantasy. Which ignores that many of the drivers held up as examples started in wing cars, went to USAC, dominated, and returned to wing cars. Don't forget Brad Sweet, you guys had him to for a while, so beat your chest that a non wing guy is a 3 time WoO champion. The non wing superiority crowd are as bad as the old Posse crowd on hoseheads.
Uhoh..... I'm a card carrying member of both "crowds"
Does that make me "Superbad"????
Originally Posted by BrentTFunk:
Be careful what you wish for. NASCAR was a semi regional series in the 80's. It got big in the 90's. It became the place to be. Prices went up, forcing out grass root fans. Think of all the tracks that used to run the Outlaws. They got priced out. As far as making the sport more popular, I don't think short track racing will ever be as popular as it was during the post WWII era. Midgets were racing in front of 100,000 people at places like the Rose Bowl and Soldier field. Kokomo back then would draw 17,000 for races. It was cheap entertainment, drivers made good money and raced 7 nights a week in many areas. Be careful what you wish for.
First off, I know next to nothing about the business of sprint car racing, winged, wingless, or upside down crushed wing
Second, at the risk of jinxing the whole shebang, I hope this works out for all concerned
Third, with the same "Anti Jinx Disclaimer", hoping good luck for Mr. Funk & his hellacious medical issues
